Relay socket

ABSTRACT

A relay socket for electrically connecting the terminals of a relay plug to external lead wires comprises at least two socket units of symmetrical configuration. Each socket unit has an open front side and a closed back side; and the two units are assembled in front-to-front relationship to one another, with their open sides in mutually facing relationship and with a separator plate interposed therebetween. Each socket unit includes a center base having an upper surface formed with a plurality of openings adapted to receive the terminals of a relay plug, and includes a pair of lead-out terminal mounting portions formed at the opposite sides of said center base. Internal recesses within each socket unit are adapted to receive substantially L-shaped metallic connecting plates each of which provides a lead-out terminal at one end thereof, disposed adjacent a lead-out terminal mounting portion of the socket unit, and the other end of each metallic connecting plate is fitted with a plug receiving terminal adapted to be positioned adjacent one of the openings in the center base of said socket unit. The socket configuration on one side of the separator plate can comprise a plurality of like units separably and complementarily fitted to one another in front-to-back relationship.

United States Patent Fujita 1 Nov. 7, 1972 [54] RELAY SOCKET [72] Inventor: Teizo Fujita, 3-34, Naka, Tezukayama, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Japan [*1 The portion of the term of this patent subsequent to Feb. 15, .1989, has been disclaimed.

[22 Filed: March 15,1971 121 Appl. No.2 124,197

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 7 Japan ..45/32l13 April 15,1970

52 us. Cl. ..339/198 0 [51] 1m. 01. ..H0lr 9/00 [58] Field 6: Search.....339/198, 176 M, 191 M, 192, 339/206, 207. 210

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,245,029 4/1966 Piperato ..339/19s GA FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,205,732 8/1959 I France ..339/l98 P 1,356,162 2/1964 France ..339/198 0 1,048,976 1/1959 Germany ..339/l98 P OTHER PUBLICATIONS Bulletin 1942 Terminal Blocks" November 1961 Pert. Pages 1 & 2.

Primary Examiner-Marvin A. Champion Assistant ExaminerRobert A. Hafer Attorney-William D. Hall, Elliott I. Pollock, Fred C. Philpitt, George Vande Sande, Charles F. Steininger and Robert P. Priddy [5 7] ABSTRACT A relay socket for electrically connecting the terminals of a relay plug to external lead wires comprises at least two socket units of symmetrical configuration. Each socket unit has an open front side and a closed back side; and the two units are assembled in front-tofront relationship to one another, with their open sides in mutually facing relationship and with a separator plate interposed therebetween. Each socket unit includes a center base having an upper surface formed with a plurality of openings adapted to receive the terminals of a relay plug, and includes a pair of lead-out terminal mounting portions formed at the opposite sides of said center base. Internal recesses within each socket unit are adapted to receive substantially L- shaped metallic connecting plates each of which provides a lead-out terminal at one end thereof, disposed adjacent a lead-out terminal mounting portion of the socket unit, and the other end of each metallic connecting plate is fitted with a plug receiving terminal adapted to be positioned adjacent one of the openings in the center base of said socket unit. The socket configuration on one side of the separator plate can comprise a plurality of like units separably and complementarily fitted to one another in front-to-back relationship.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDIM m1: 3.702.457

' SHEET 1 0F 4 INVENTOR BY n z q ATTORNEY P'AIENTEDIM 11912 3.702 457 SHEET 2 BF 4 INVENTOR /Hi 71 g ATTORNEY PATENTEDNB 7 I SHEET '4 (IF 4 FIG. 6

INVENTOR ATTORNEY RELAY SOCKET CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATEDAPILICATION Fujita u.s. Application Set. No. 889,168 filed Dec.

30, 1969, for Relay Socket, now U.S. Pat. No.

3,643,210, issued Feb. 15, 1972.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a socket for relays.

Prior art relay sockets have normally been provided with a predetermined number of poles i.e., such that they are for double-pole .or triple-pole use, and have not been allowed to be divided. It has therefore been required to use, eg for a triple-pole relay, a triple-pole socket. For this reason, stock management has been troublesome.

In a relay socket according to my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,643,210, this difficulty has been overcome by providing a socket wherein a plurality of socket units, corresponding in number to the desired number of poles are collectively disposed. Each unit has an open face and a closed back side covering the open face of the adjacent unit, and an end plate is put over the open face of the-outer most socket unit. However, the,end plate has sometimes been deflected or broken during assemblage or use. I

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION the type of the division at each pole which-is employed in this invention allows simple internal connection.

More particularly, the socket of the present invention permits connection leads to be inserted from one side of each socket unit, whereby wiring becomes much easier.

Furthermore, in order to eliminate the end plate problems, discussed above in reference to the relay socket of my prior U.S. Pat. to, 3,643,210, the present invention provides an end plate which is positioned internally in the assembled relay socket. One or more first socket units, each of which has an open front side, are assembled in front-to-back relationship; the open front of the forwardmost unit is then covered by an end plate which acts as a separator plate; and the unit is completed by then adding a second socket unit symmetrical to the aforementioned first units but having its open face disposed in the opposite direction, on the side of said separator plate opposite to, and in front-tofront relation to said first units..

An object of this invention is to provide, in a socket having a rectangular base at the central part thereof, terminal-inserting openings for a relay which are formed in the upper side of said base, and lead-out terminal mounts from said terminal-inserting openings which are disposed in a stepped fashion at both ends of said base. The relay socket comprises two units which have their respective open sides opposed, said units with the heights of the respective terminal mounts 12a,

each including portions providing terminal-inserting openings and leadout terminal mounts and each comprising connection fittings interiorly extending from said terminal-inserting openings to said terminal mounts via interior concave portions opening into one side of each said unit. A separator plate is interposed between said two units. The rows of poles may be increased by collection and addition of at least one unit in the same direction, the last-mentioned unit having the same open side as that of one of said two units. The overall arrangement thus provides a very useful relay socket,'which allows simple assemblage and which is free from breakage etc. of the components during assemblage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the relay socket according to this invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view, partly in longitudinal section, of the embodiment. i i a FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a relay and the .re ays k t-.

FIG. 4 is a plan view in which the relay socket shown in FIG. 1 is exploded at each socket unit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRE EMBODIMENT This invention will now be described with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. Numeral l, 2 and 3 designate socket units made of molded insulation, which have rectangular,

center bases 11, 21 and 31 at their central portions, respectively. Lead-out terminal mounts 12a, 12b and 22a, 22b and 32a, 32b are provided in a stepped manner at both ends of the respective center bases in the lengthwise direction, while separators'l3, 23 and 33 are erected on the rear sides of the respective terminal mounts and in a stepped manner in conformity 12b and 22a, 22b and 32a, 32b. The upper surfaces of the respective bases 11, 21 and 31, are formed with concave holes 11a, 11b and 21a, 21b and 31a for inserting terminals 5a of a relay 5. The bottoms of the concave holes 11a, 11b of the socket unit 1 and the terminal mounts 12a, 12b are brought into a communication by a laterally disposed concave portion K. Similarly, the bottoms of the concave holes 21a, 21b of the socket unit 2 and its terminal mounts 22a, 22b, and the bottoms of the concave holes 310 of the socket unit 3 and its terminal mounts 32a, 32b, are respectively caused to communicate by means of the laterally disposed concave portions K. The laterally provided concave portions K of of the socket units 1, 2 and 3 are open to the front side, along with the respective concave holes for insertion. Each of the units 1, 2 and 3 is provided with concave holes N, N at substantially the central parts of its both sides on the open front face, the

concave holes each having a through-hole P which penetrates through the particular socket unit. In the socket units 1 and 2, which are intended to be disposed at the opposing ends of the assembled relay socket, attaching pieces 14 and 24 are outwardly formed at substantially the central, lower, rear side portions of the separators 13 and 23 provided thereon, respectively. The back side of the socket unit 3 which unit is intended to be fittedly inserted in the interior of the assembled socket, is provided with fitting-in protrusions S, S sized to be fitted into the concave holes N, N of the adjacent socket unit 1. On the rear side of the base 31 of the socket unit 3, closure sections 34 are provided which are adapted to close the front open side of the concave insertion holes 11a and 11b of the adjacent socket unit 1.

Referencenumeral 4 designates a separator plate made of molded insulation and designed for connection between the socket units 1 and 2, or 2 and 3 the socket unit 2 being intended for disposition at and end portion of the assembled socket and the socket unit 3 being intended to be disposed in the mid portion of the socket. At both ends of a rectangular base 41 at the central part of the separator plate 4, separators 42 are formed in stepped fashion which serve to close the open face side of the respective terminal mounts 22a, 22b and 32a, 32b of the socket units 2 and 3 when they are connected together by the separator plate 4. Plate 4 is also provided with closure sections 43a and 43b for closing the open face sides of the concave insertion holes 21a, 21b and 31a of the socket unit 2 and 3, said sections 43a and 43b being positioned to project outwardly from the front and back faces of the base 1, respectively. In addition, both the front and rear sides of the separator 4 are formed with projections S, S adapted to be fitted into the concave holes N, N formed in the socket units 2 and 3, in such a manner that each protrusion S has a through-hole P penetrating through its interior. Elements 6 and 7 are the connecting fittings, comprising substantially L-shaped metallicconnecting plates which form portions of each socket unit. The connecting fittings 6 comprise a plug terminal 61 designed to-be-fitted into one of the concave holes 11a, 11b and 21a, 21b and 31a, and a connecting plate 62 (which is U" -shaped in side view), designed to-befitted into the transversely extending concave portion K. The connecting fittings 7 similarly comprise a plug terminal 71 adapted to-be-fitted into one of the said concave holes a and a connecting plate 72, which is similarly L) -shaped, designed to-be-fitted into the same concave portion. The plug terminals 61 and 71 are respectively mounted at one end of the connecting fittings, and the other ends of said fittings are provided with tapped holes 62a and 72a for terminal screws 8.

According to this invention, the above-described socket units 1 to 3 and separator plate 4 are coupled together to complete one relay socket. In order to positively couple them, the respective bases 11, 21 and 31 have their front faces indented with respect to the bothside terminal mounts 12a, 12b and 22a, 22b and 32a, 32b to provide concave stepped portions 110, 21c and 31b at the respective boundaries. The rear side of the base 31 of socket unit 3, and the front and back faces of the base 41 of the separator plate 4 are formed with raised portions 31c and 41a which protrude from the respective side separators 33 and 42, in order that they may be fitted with the complementary concave stepped portions 110, 21c and 31b when the socket units 1 to 3 and the separator plate 4 are collectively assembled To assemble a complete socket in accordance with the present invention, the connection fittings 6 and 7 are first fittedly inserted into the concave holes 11a, 11b and 21a, 21b and 31a of the three socket units 1 to 3 and into the respective laterally provided concave portions K. The three socket units 1 to 3 and the separator plate 4 are then collected and coupled together with the socket units 1 and 2 being are arranged at both ends of the socket, and with the socket unit 3 and the separator plate 4 being fittedly inserted between the end units l and 2. Fixing rivets 9 are thereafter inserted into the through-holes P which are formed in the fitting portions of the concave holes N and the fitting-in projections S. In this way, a relay socket is completed which has the same outward appearance in construction as that of a common relay socket with three lead-out rows, as shown in FIG. 1.

While, in the foregoing description, references has been made to a relay socket which'has threelead-out rows, this invention can provide a relay socket with only two lead-out rows simply by collecting and coupling only the end socket units 1, 2 and the separator plate 4. If it is desired to provide a relay socket having four or more lead-out rows, any number of lead-out rows may be obtained merely by fittedly inserting between the socket unit 1 and the separator plate 4 the required number of socket units 3. It is accordingly unnecessary to manufacture a number of different relay sockets having different predetermined numbers of terminal rows as has been the case heretofore, whereby the relay socket of this invention has the advantage, among others, of facilitating stock management and reducing inventory problems. Afurther characterizing feature of this invention is that, since the socket units 1 and 2 have large molding depths and are disposed at both ends of the socket while the separator plate 4 has a'relatively small molding depth and is fittedly inserted therebetween with the required number of units 3 being increasable or decreasable between the end unit 1 and the'separator plate 4, the socket units and the separator plate etc. are'not subject to deflection or respective terminal mounts. Therefore, the fitted insertion of the connection fittings 6 and 7 into the respective socket units may be carried out from the sides of the socket units, so that the assemblage may be performed very simply. In addition, since the mounting pieces 14 and 24 are provided on the end socket units 1 and 2 a the assembled relay socket of this invention may be easily fixed to a narrow mounting rail and the like.

I claim:

1. A relay socket for electrically connecting the terminals of a relay plug to external lead wires comprising:

a first socket unit having a front open side and an opposite back side;

a separable separator plate;

a second socket unit having a front open side and an opposite back side, said second socket unit having a configuration substantially symmetrical to that of said first socket unit;

said first and second socket units being assembled in front-to-front relationship with said separator plate being interposed therebetween, the opposite sides of said separator plate being disposed in covering relation to at least a portion of the front open sides of both said first and second socket units,

each of said first and second sockets units comprising:

a center base disposed at the central portion of said socket unit and having an upper surface formed with a plurality of terminal-inserting openings adapted to receive the terminals of a relay plug,

at least one lead-out terminal mounting portion I formed at each of the opposite sides of said center base and adapted to mount a lead-out terminal to be connected with one of said external lead wires,

a concave portion for spatially communicating each of said terminal-inserting openings with the respective lead-out terminal mounting portion, said concave portion being formed in an open conunit and being closed at its back side by the back side of said socket unit,

and a plurality of metallic connecting plates each having one end formed as said lead-out terminal and having its other end fitted with a plug receiving terminal to be electrically connected with the terminal of the relay plug,

each of said metallic connecting plates being inserted into said concave portion with its plug receiving terminal positioned adjacent one of said terminalinserting opening and with its said lead-out terminal positioned at the respective lead-out terminal mounting portion.

2. The socket of claim 1 wherein said relay socket comprises a plurality of said first socket units separably and complementarily fitted together in front-to-back relationship to one another, the back side of each of said first socket units being positioned to close the front open side of the next adjacent one of said first socket units.

3. The socket of claim 1 wherein each lead-out terminal mounting portion of each of said socket units is formed in step configuration.

4. The socket of claim 1 wherein each of said metalhe connecting plates has a substantially L-shaped configuration at said front open side of said socket figuration. 

1. A relay socket for electrically connecting the terminals of a relay plug to external lead wires comprising: a first socket unit having a front open side and an opposite back side; a separable separator plate; a second socket unit having a front open side and an opposite back side, said second socket unit having a configuration substantially symmetrical to that of said first socket unit; said first and second socket units being assembled in front-tofront relationship with said separator plate being interposed therebetween, the opposite sides of said separator plate being disposed in covering relation to at least a portion of the front open sideS of both said first and second socket units, each of said first and second sockets units comprising: a center base disposed at the central portion of said socket unit and having an upper surface formed with a plurality of terminal-inserting openings adapted to receive the terminals of a relay plug, at least one lead-out terminal mounting portion formed at each of the opposite sides of said center base and adapted to mount a lead-out terminal to be connected with one of said external lead wires, a concave portion for spatially communicating each of said terminal-inserting openings with the respective lead-out terminal mounting portion, said concave portion being formed in an open configuration at said front open side of said socket unit and being closed at its back side by the back side of said socket unit, and a plurality of metallic connecting plates each having one end formed as said lead-out terminal and having its other end fitted with a plug receiving terminal to be electrically connected with the terminal of the relay plug, each of said metallic connecting plates being inserted into said concave portion with its plug receiving terminal positioned adjacent one of said terminal-inserting opening and with its said lead-out terminal positioned at the respective lead-out terminal mounting portion.
 2. The socket of claim 1 wherein said relay socket comprises a plurality of said first socket units separably and complementarily fitted together in front-to-back relationship to one another, the back side of each of said first socket units being positioned to close the front open side of the next adjacent one of said first socket units.
 3. The socket of claim 1 wherein each lead-out terminal mounting portion of each of said socket units is formed in step configuration.
 4. The socket of claim 1 wherein each of said metallic connecting plates has a substantially L-shaped configuration. 